Evaluation

Overall, our group feels that our preliminary exercise was successful although there was room for improvement. If the task was repeated; we would need to edit the sound as it was of very poor quality and position some of the shots more carefully. For example, whilst filming the female protagonist making a cup of tea the shot was not framed correctly however time constraints prevented the group from refilming. By filming more carefully the overall project may have looked more professional.

The 180 degree shot was filmed successfully and a variety of shots were used which excelled the criteria of the project. Match on action was also used and it was easy to organise filming and we appeared to work well as a group.

The film was difficult to edit in the time given as we couldn't refilm therefore we had to select some of the poor shots. With more time we could have used these shots more effectively.

To conclude there are a variety of things that could have been improved and that the preliminary was not a true representation of our ability however it was still filmed to a good standard. We hope to use this as a learning facility and guide for our final project.

Preliminary Exercise

Lighting

During the filming process we found that natural light was better to use in the shot as it aided verisimilitude and allowed us to film without having to constantly transport and set up lighting equipment.

We experienced some issues with the lighting due to the weather's constant change. By filming in a conservatory the light on the shots appeared to have an orange tint. We continued to film as we felt that this issue would be too difficult to overcome with insufficient equipment. We also experienced problems with the reflection of the camera in the conservatory windows therefore we had to ensure that this didn't impair the quality of the film.

Sound

There were problems with sound during our preliminary exercise; the background noise posed difficulties for the group as it was hard to distinguish the dialogue from other diegetic sound. This was due to the fact that we filmed in the middle of the day, outside, next to a frequently used road, so we had to battle with traffic noise. There were also problems with the quality of sound as the equipment used created a muffling effect over the louder noises. During the editing proccess we were able to reduce most of the unwanted resonance and amplify the necessary sound such as the dialogue. Another problem we had to overcome was the sound of the rain, because we coulnd't get the camera wet, we used an umbrella over the camera to stop water getting on the lens, however, when it started to rain more heavily the noise of the rain on the umbrella could be heard on the film, this was overcome in the editing process. We didn't add any music or sound effects to portray the feeling of normality and realism, although we did focus on the sound of the mug smashing, as it was a key point in the narrative. We kept dialogue to a minimum, because of the poor quality of the sound interfered with the flow of the narrative, and we also chose to do this so the viewers weren't distracted from the narrative.

Casmp

The preliminary begins with a medium pan to the right to introduce the character and establish the setting.
Pan to the left and tilts upwards.
Female character enters through the front door of the house.
Close up of the key unlocking the door with a steady zoom draws the audience into the diegeses of the film.
There is match on action and shows the female character going inside the house; the high angle shot makes the character appear much smaller to instigate vulnerability. This also implies that she is being watched.
There are close ups of the kettle boiling and a long shot of female making the cup of tea; this sequence is used to create normality.
A medium shot of the female sitting at the table reading a magazine furthers the idea of normality and suggests that she is unprepared for anything unusual which may happen. This furthers the effect of the close of the male protagonists face and the close up and track down of the mug smashing; both are completely unexpected. The close up of the males face is a reflection in the window.
This is followed by a conversation between the two characters which uses the 180 degree rule; the table is supposed to appear as a barrier between the two characters suggesting the female does not want to be close to the male. The way the 180 degree rule is filmed creates enigma ie. the audience wondering how they are involved with each other.
The conversation has a series of four alternate over the shoulder shots of the conversation between the characters which draws the audience into the perspective of the characters.

Mise en Scene

After choosing the location, we needed to think about the Mise en Scene within the shots. To help us with this we reviewed our storyboard and chose the Mise en Scene to fit the genre. Many attempts to do so didn't work effectively as the weather was out of our control, this was also difficult when filming inside the conservatory as there was reflection in the windows which diminshed the realism. A change made from the first storyboard was that we used a shot of a mug breaking to create tension and drama. To enable us to do this we had to purchase several mugs which all had to be identical. This action of making a cup of tea created a sense or normality for the character, this was intentional as well as the shots of the front door and the kettle. These all gave the feeling of equilibrium. We chose to shoot the main character walking down a normal lit up street to show normality and to establish the scene, the lack of other people in the shot showed the isolation of the main character. The actors also had to wear the same costumes to in keep with the flowing narrative, this was difficult at first due to the change in weather and it was not possible for us to film all in one day.

Location

When deciding on a location, we considered a number of different settings including a local pub or bar, a house or living room and we even considered using the school cellars for an eerie twist. We visited all of the above to assess and choose which one to use. In the end we chose to use a house because we had eliminated the pub as we couldn't get permision, and after doing a risk assesment on the cellars, we found that it was also inapproprate. By using a house, we found we could easily create a sense of equilibrium and disequilibrium because it is a simple setting that conforms with realism. We also used the house because it was convienient to film as it was easily accessable for the entire group out of school hours.